Article working and assembling apparatus



y I A. s. Llss 2,353,054

ARTICLE WORKING AND ASSEMBLING APPARATUS Filed April 7, '1942 3Sheets-She et 1 I 7 a s 24' 6 H6 6 "'9 L IIIIIII QIIIIIIIIIII ATTORNEY I1944- A. s. Liss 2,353,054

I ARTICLE WORKING AND .ASSEMBLING APPARATUS 7 Filed April 7, 1942 3Sheets-Sheet 2 nvvmrok A. 6. L/ss ATM/MID 3 Shets-Sheet 5 l/VVE/VTOI?A6. U55

5) ATTORNEY July 4,1944.

ARTICLE WQRKING AND ASSEMBLING APPARATUS Filed Aprii 7, 1942 PatentedJuly 4, 1944 ED- STATES PATENT OFFICE ARmcLEwon-KmGAND ASSE lBL NGArPARArr s;

August S. Liss Qhicago, Illa, assignor to Western I Electric company,Incorporated, New York,

Y. a corporation of New York e ltlllta iq l A r l. t t-e t time: 7

10 Claims.

In accordance with the. above object,'this in:-

vention contemplates, in one embodiment thereof, as applied to theassembling of the above-described bell strikers, an apparatus whichcomprises a punch and.- die mechanism having a plurality of co-operatingmeans for cutting from a leading'notched end of a continuous length ofwire a length thereof towproduce a striker arm and substantially at thesame instant notching portions of the adjacentends of the arm and thecontinuous length of wire at each side of the cutting point and stakingthe slotted head to the leading notched end of the arm. During theadvance of the wire to an assembling position between the die and punchportions, it is asso.-'v

ciated with a plurality of guiding and positioning means arranged uponthe die portion which serve to accurately align the notched end of thewire with the slotted head, which is manually fed into assemblingposition upon an anvil carried in the die portion and under the wire byguiding and positioning means. As the punch portion moves down, meanscarried thereby laterally guides andpushes the notched end of the Wireinto the slot in the striker head and upon further downward movement ofthe punch portion, the

laterally yieldable sets of holding and pick-up elements on the punchportion grip spaced portions of the wire. In. the upward movement of the.punch portion, cooperating yieldable stripper elements, carried on thepunch and die portions,

free the adjacent Wire ends from the notching means and the assemblageis carried upwardly from the die portion by the holding and pick-upelements and thereafter is freed therefrom by a positive knock-outelement and blown by blasts oi air from the apparatus into receivinmeans. The cQ ti mQu len th o wire is adllancfid for th .f ll wlne asemb durin the u ward mc ment. 9f 1 P lRQhJPQPPlQQ 9 1 tweets and. advata es at the lavcatl n 5 portion of the apparatus and associ- 10 thepart be n sh w h t' will be a pa ent. He p. the i l wl l ail s 'q talsell tcn lln tlqfi i l t'"a .=1i patt n lifet mes. which ile 1 i a lre mnte th ii v ew at he die mhah o ui in t le ik r he t s t. assemb a ewith the Strike Fig. 2 is an enlarged mentary central vex.- 1919?} s fiq tith e h an ar l ll t'e' d ther by a the unch e r z l iter he upwardlimit Qt it rav l. ll?! u t/2 i t e f ett the Qomel t d as embla .lq i dd h an pickup. l ments;

0 F gs- 3. and 2 are trasme l bttt ln el fil Illa}.1

iews. of t e when a d lit l qlll f i .tivelm Qt the appara u lq sl s l islt .1 et ion af qnsth lllri fere Ql F eis. a r atly eelar edtran vtrsere s.-

,9 section taken on e lire 5T5 lit some the o tra i s ot ll ean 9E1 e.Plllt i a die or ic n e atlrerpsltl a with thew rc a m here qe w en;

F es- 6 d 7 a t ansver e vertical Q lQll 2- taken o he mete-s and 1- 5rt n qtltelrl of. i the part b in shown. l t i pera:-

tive nqsitions; r

Fi 8. i an enlar ed transv rs rtrtl a r ss. section tak n on the ine 78.O Els- 3...IlQlll thestakingop ratiqn;

. Fi 9. is an e larged. v rt ca QI'QSS s tlontalsen on the lin 9: 8 ofFig. ,1;

F 10, is a dia r mmatic il ust ati n .0: the knQckeout means for remgvlnhe ccmnleted bell striker assembla es rom he holdin and pick-up'elements; and v 7 I Fig. 11 is. a plan. vi w of the ll strikerassemblageas produced by the apparatu embodying the features of thisinvention.-

cutting, notching and staking means operate and n Referring 0 thedrawings, in which an a paratus em y the f atures of this invention. ishown f r as in el trikers wher in each assemblage compris s awire arm.I 5 and a lot ed y lnderw ike head 16 (Figs. 2., s. and 11),, he head,3 being secured to the arm by a s a in Qnera iqnhe. a pa a u Fig. 2 incdes a. di 091; ll shown f a me ar y, ad p ed ta s sup anted up n a aiona bed and a punth su port 18. e se sh wn agm nta l arr ng d, t besecu ed 5,9 ti v rticall r cln o ahle aten a t e press (net shqw l- As.hown inEist e mirth sun: leer-t 1.8 s in t uepet etrtttetl nos tlcelfirst t the die block 7 and h nch suppo latthe right nd theme? are ates2' 1 ae ttlrespe tlve y the p a es be n spat ttqmllle: 11? 9 and punchsupport l8 by spacer blocks 23 and 24, respectively. Rigidly carried ineach of the plates 2| and 22 and backed by the blocks 23 and 24 is a setof. cooperating forming or nicking punches 25, each set comprising foursuitably shaped punches which, in the operation of the press, with thewire to form the arm therebetween, as shown greatly enlarged in Fig. 5,nick or form the wire at four longitudinally spaced points intosubstantially square cross-sections, as indicated at 28 (Figs. 5 and 11)in which two of the nicks 28 are indicated. The other two nicks 28 areformed on the leading end of the wire |5, from which the previous wirearm l5- was cut as shown in Fig. 2. Substantially at the same instant asthe nicking operation, the wire is sheared at a point intermediate thefour formed portions 28 thereof by a shear or cutter 29 rigidly carriedin the late 22 and a hollow die 3!) sim--- ilarly carried in the plate2|, the arrangement k being such that the short length of wire or slugformed in the shearing operation drops through the hollow die andaligned apertures in the block '23, die support l1 and finally into areceptacle (not shown).

Reciprocably carried in the plates 2| and 22 are opposed spring. pressedstripping and holding pins 3|, arranged to engage opposite sides of thewire l5 adjacent each of the end nicking punches 25. As the punchsupport |8 moves downwardly,

the oppositely disposed pins 3| engage the wire l5 slightly in advanceof the nicking punches and shear 29 and serve to hold the wire steadyduring the nicking and cutting operations. In the retraction of thepunch support [8, the spring pressed pins are effective to hold the wireI5 therebetween until the nicking punches 25 have been withdrawn fromthe wire, thus insuring that the wire which tends to adhere to thepunches will be positively freed therefrom.

At the left of the plates 2| and 22, the die block I7 and punch supportl8 also carry plates 34 and 35, respectively, which are spaced from thedie block and punch support by the spacer blocks 23 and 24 previouslymentioned. Rigidly carried in the plate 34 at its right end (Figs. 2 and4) is a post 36 having an inclined arcuate tapering notch 31 in itsupper face which serves to position and guide the leading end of thewire l5 in its advance, if it drops sufficiently to engage the same. Tothe left of the post 36 and reciprocably carried in the plate 34 is aspring. pressed block 36, in which is fixed a set of spaced wire guidepins 4|, the upper face of the post 36 being inclined for a purposesimilar to that of the inclined notch 31 of the post 36.

Fixed in the plate 34 to the left of the block '38 is an anvil 42 havingformed in its upper end face a recessed seat 43 and an arcuate stop wall44 for positioning the striker heads l6 as they are intermittently fedinto position on the anvil from a recessed guiding face 45 formed in theupper face of the plate 34. Fixed in the plate 2|, at each side of thestripping and holding pins 3| are sets of spaced wire guide pins 48,which, to-

gether with the set of spaced pins 4| and the arcuate notch 31 in thepost 36, serve to laterally position and guide the leading end of thewire l5 in its advance to the position shown in Fig. 2 directly over andaligned with a vertical slot 49 in the striker head l6. Apertures 50 areprovided in the plates 22 and 35 for receiving the guide pins 4| and 48when the punch support I8 moves downwardly to operate upon the wire I5.

Cooperating with the anvil 42 is a staking tool 5| (Figs. 2, 3 and 8)which is rigidly carried in the plate 35. The tool 5| is formed with apair of chisel or wedge shaped spaced knife edges 52 on its 1ower endface, which engage the upper face of the striker head l6 at each side ofthe slot 49 during an operating stroke of the punch support l8 and stakethe metal at each side of the slot 49 over the wire arm l5, as clearlyshown in Figs. 8 and II, thus firmly attaching the head to the arm. Tothe right of the staking tool 5| (Fig, 2) and reciprocably carried inthe plate 35 is a spring pressed pin 55 having a forked lower end 56(Fig. 7) into which the leading end of the wire I5 is guided as theplate 35 moves downwardly and is efiective to align the wire endlaterally with the slot 49 in the striker head I6 and then, by pressingdownward thereon, insert it in the slot. A depression 51 is provided inthe plate 34 for receiving the forked end 56 of the pin 55 when thelatter is in its lowered position (Fig. 7).

- Two sets of spaced holding and pick-up members 60 (Figs. 2, 3 and 6)for handling the completed bell striker assemblages, are carried by theplate 35, the sets of members being so spaced as to grip opposite sidesof longitudinally spaced portions of the striker arm l5 at each side ofthe guide post 36 in the downward movement f the punch support I8 andcarry them upwardly therewith in the return movement of the support. Asshown particularly in Fig. 6, the members 60 are suspended by flangedupper ends or head freely engaging in depressions in the plate 35 withthe lower ends of the members extending through apertures 6| in andbelow the plate and terminating in ball-like grooved ends 62. Theapertures 6| are enlarged and tapered outwardly at one side for theirentire length, as indicated at 63, and th heads of the members 60 arecurved upon their upper and lower faces, the arrangement beingsuch thatthe members are capable of being rocked laterally when their lower ends62 move into gripping engagement with the wire arm l5. Compressionsprings 64 are mountedin the plate and arranged to engage the members 60to normally urge them towards each other.

The strikerheads I6, are fed, one at a time, into predetermined positionon the anvil 42 from a train 61 of heads guided by an arcuate shapedoverhead rail or-bar 68 (Figs. 1 and 9) suspended above a shelf or table69 by a plurality of brackets In and extending from the left end of thedie block plate 34 to the forward end of the shelf, the shelf beingfixed to the frame of the punch press. Attached tothe upper face of theshelf at its forward end is a rail 1| for retaining a supply of headsl6; uponthe shelf, the rail also serving in cooperation with a shortguide plate 12 to guide the heads [6 to the suspended guide rail 68(Fig, 9). Theleading end of the rail 68 is suspended from a bracket 13mounted upon the'guide plate 12. In feeding the heads IE to therail 68,the operator slides the head with its slotted end uppermost and at thesame time rotates'the head until its slot 49 is aligned with the railandslides. it I into position with the rail entered in the slot. 'Thus, asthe heads I6 are fed along the rail 68, they are predeterminedly guidedfrom the shelf 69 into staking position on the anvil 42 with the slots49 extending parallel to the wire arm l5. s

. In thejoperation of the-apparatus, as the reciprocable punch supportI6 is retracted each time from the stationary die block H, the wire l5,which is supplied from a coil (not shown), is intermittently advanced bya suitable feed mechanism, indicated diagrammatically at 15 (Fig, 1).The wire is advanced a distance equal to the length of the wire arm I ofthe assemblage (Fig. 2). Since the punch press with which the apparatusof this invention is associated and from which it is operated and thewire feed mechanism '55, which is also operated from the punch press,are well-known in the art, only such parts thereof will be referred towhich are believed necessary to a full understanding of the presentinvention.

In Fig. 2, it will be assumed that the punch support I8 is movingupwardly and is very near the end of its upward movement and the wirel5, from which the previous wire arm I 5 was out, has been advanced bythe feed mechanism to position the free end of the wire, which wasnicked at 28 in the previous operation of the apparatus, to its desiredlocation over a slotted striker head i6 resting on the anvil 42. In theadvance of the wire i5, it is laterally guided by the pins 48 and 4! andelevated, if necessary, by the inclined notch 3'? in the post 33 and theinclined face of the post 38. Also, that the striker head 16 has beenmanually fed into position on the anvil 42 and against the stop wall 44thereof by the movement of the train of heads 57 along the guide rail68, in the manner previously described.

It will also be observed (Figs. 2 and 10) that the sets of holding andpick-up members 60 operativel associated with the wire arm l5 in thelast assembling operation have carried the completed bell strikerassemblage upwards and it is about to be freed therefrom by a positiveknockout bar 56 freely resting at its lower end upon the wire arm 15,the bar being reciprocably carried in the punch support 58, Referring tothe diagrammatic showing in Fig. 10, the bar 16 is limited in itsmovement in the support 18 by a pin and slot connection "i8 and is shownin an intermediate position on the support with its upper end face justengaging an abutment 19. In the final upward movement of the support l8from the positions shown in Figs. 2 and 10, the bar 16 is moved downwardrelative to the support and it thereby strips the assemblage frombetween the laterally yieldable holding and gripping members Eli and ablast of air from nozzles 80 (Fig. .1) blows the assemblage into areceiving means (not shown).

After the removal of the assembled bell striker from the apparatus, asabove described, the spring pressed stripping and holding pins 3!, guidepin 55 and pick-up members 60 return to their normal positions and theapparatus is ready to be actuated for another assembling operation.

In the downward movement of the punch support I8, the yieldablestripping and holding pins 3| first engage the wire l5 at oppositepoints and immediately thereafter the nicking punches 25 operate uponthe wire to produce the substantially square cross-sections 28 (Fig. 5)in the manner and for the purpose previously described. In timedrelation to the nicking operation, the cutter 29 and die 39 operate toout the wire arm from the wire IS, the pick-up members 59 grip the wirearm, the forked lower end 56 (Fig. 7) of the yieldable guide pin 55guides and pushes the end of the wire arm into the slot 49 of thestriker head is and the staking tool 5| operates to attach the strikerhead to the wire arm in the manner shown in Fig. 8. It will beunderstood that during the operations described above, the pins 3|, 55and guide post 38 recede in their respective supporting plates.

In Fig. 7, the relative positions 75 of the. plates. and 35, .guide pin5.5 andwire arm l5 are shown'at thecompletion of the staking operation.

As the punch support [8 returns to its upper position, the springpressed pins 3|, acting in opposite directions against the wire arm [5,positively free the same from the nicking punches and the assemblage iscarried upwardly by the pick-up members 60 and finally freed therefrom,in the manner previously described. The wire I5, during the upwardmovement of the punch support, is advanced to the position shown in Fig.2, ready for the next cycle of operation, the operator in the meantimemanually advancing the train of striker heads [6 forwardly to positionthe leading head on the anvil 42. It will be understood that the energystored in springs associated with the guide pins 3| and 55, which areengaged with the wire arm :5 of the assemblage, and which pins aredisplaced downwardly in the plate during the upward movement of theassemblage with the pick-up members is not such as to overcome'the gripof the pick-up members on the wire arm;

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that a practical, efficient andreliable apparatus has been devised for accurately and rapidly workingand assembling articles and thereafter removing the completed articlefrom the apparatus.

While the features of this invention have been disclosed in a specificstructure for assembling and handling particular types of articles, itshould be understood that modifications can be made and it is capable ofother applications.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination with an article working apparatus which includesrelatively movable article working members, of yieldable means mountedonone of said members for gripping and removing the worked article fromsaid other member, said means. comprisingshouldered pins rockablycarried upon their shoulders in apertures in said member. Y

2. The combination with an article working apparatus which includesmovable and stationary article. working members, of yieldable meansdirectly carried by and movable with the movable member for gripping andcarrying the article from said stationary member upon a retraction ofthe. movable member, said means comprising headed pins rockablysupported upon their heads inshouldered tapered apertures in saidmember.

3. In an article'assembling, working and handling apparatus, means forfeeding elements to predetermined :positions for attachment to eachother, relatively movable tools for attaching the elements to completean article, and laterally yieldable members longitudinally movable withone of. said tools adapted to yieldably grip the article and carry itfrom the other of said tools, said members comprising shouldered pinsrockably carried upon their shoulders in apertures in said tool.

4. An article assembling, working and handling apparatus comprisingmeans for feeding elements to predetermined positions for attachment,one of the elements being slotted for the reception of the otherelement, an anvil for supporting the slotted element, a reciprocablemember, a tool carried thereby for staking the slotted element to theother element to complete an article, and laterally yieldable memberscarried by said reciprocable member adapted to yieldably grip theelement staked to the slotted element and carry the completed articlefrom the anvil.

'5. An article assembling and working apparatus comprising means forfeeding an element into predetermined spaced relation with anotherelement, the second element being slotted for the reception of the firstelement, means for supporting and locating the slotted element relativeto the first element, a reciprocable member, a tool carried thereby forstaking the slotted element to the first element, and means yieldablycarried on said reciprocable member effective to engage the firstelement in advance of the engagement of the staking tool with the secondelement, to laterally align the first element with the slot of theslotted element and insert the same in the slot.

- 6. In an apparatus for assembling and working elements, one of theelements being slotted for the reception of the other element, an anvilhaving an abutment for supporting and positioning the slotted element, atable for supporting the slotted elements prior to the assemblingoperation, a guide rail suspended thereabove with which the slots of theelements are associated for guiding the elements in train formation, oneat a time, to said abutment, means for guiding the other element topredetermined assembling relation with the slotted element, areciprocable member, and a tool carried thereby for staking the slottedelement to the other element to complete an article.

7. In an apparatus for assembling and working elements, one of theelements being slotted for the reception of the other element, an anvilhaving an abutment for supporting and positioning the slotted element, atable for supporting slotted elements prior to the assembling operation,an arcuate shaped guide rail suspended thereabove extending from saidanvil and to a forward end of said table, the slots of the elementsbeing associated with said rail for guiding the elements in trainformation, one at a time, to said abutment, means for guiding the otherelement into alignment with and above the slot of the slotted element, areciprocable member, a yieldable forked device carried thereb forengaging the element positioned above the slotted element, aligning itlaterally with the slot and pressing it thereinto, said device beingarranged at one side of the slotted element, and a tool carried by saidreciprocable member for staking the slotted element to the other elementto complete an article.

8. An article assembling and working apparatus comprising movable andstationary article Working members, means for feeding and guiding acontinuous length of wire between said members to accurately locate itsleading notched end with a slotted member located on the stationarymember, said movable member carrying a tool for staking the slottedmember to the notched wire end and a set of notching tools spaced fromsaid tool along the wire, said stationary member supporting a set ofnotching tools cooperating with said first set of tools to notch thewire at longitudinally spaced points, and cooperating cutting members onsaid movable and stationary members arranged between the tools of eachset for severing the wire simultaneously with the notch ing and stakingoperations.

9. An article assembling, working and handling apparatus comprisingmovable and stationary article working members, means for feeding andguiding a continuous length of wire between said members to accuratelylocate its leading notched end with a slotted member located on thestationary member, said movable member carrying a tool for staking theslotted member to the notched wire end and a set of notching toolsspaced from said tool along the wire, said stationary member supportinga set of notching tools cooperating with said first set of tools tonotch the wire at longitudinally spaced points, cooperating cuttingmembers on said movable and stationary members arranged between thetools of each set for severing the wire simultaneously with the notchingand staking operations, cooperating yieldable members carried on themovable and stationary members engageable with the severed length ofwire and. effective to positively free the same from the notching toolsupon a retraction of the movable member, and laterally yieldable meanscarried by said reciprocable member adapted to yieldably grip thecompleted article and carry it from the stationary member.

10. In an apparatus for assembling and working articles to produce bellstrikers comprising a slotted head staked to a notched end of a wire armentered in the slot of the head, movable and stationary article workingmembers, means for feeding and guiding a continuous length of wirebetween said members to accurately locate its leading notched end with aslotted head located on the stationary member, said movable membercarrying a tool for staking the slotted head to the notched wire end anda set of notching tools spaced from said tool along the Wire, saidstationary member supporting a set of notching tools cooperating withsaid first set of tools to notch the wire at longitudinally spacedpoints, cooperating cutting members on said movable and stationarymembers arranged between the tools of each set for severing the wiresimultaneously with the notching and staking operations, means yieldablycarried on said movable member effective to engage the wire to one sideof the head in advance of the engagement of the staking tool with thehead, to laterally align the Wire with the slot of the head and insertthe same into the slot, and laterally yieldable members carried by saidmovable member adapted to yieldably grip the wire arm and carry thecompleted bell striker from the stationary member.

AUGUST S. LISS.

